Basketball - Team Italy

General
Italy booked their ticket for Tokyo 2020 through the Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, which was held in June and July 2021. Five teams were vying for the one Olympic slot up for grabs at the tournament and it was the Italians who prevailed with a 102-95 win over Serbia in the final.

Italy have a long Olympic history in men's basketball, competing at 12 editions of the Games, but Tokyo 2020 is their first appearance since 2004. They finished second in their group behind Spain in Athens, before beating Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals. The Italians then shocked a quality Lithuania team in the semifinals but lost to Argentina in the gold medal match. It was the second time they had finished runners-up at the Olympic Games, having won silver at the 1980 Games in Moscow.

At the 2019 World Cup, the Italians won two of their three matches in the preliminary stage to qualify for the second round. Drawn in a group with Spain, Serbia, and Puerto Rico, they placed third and did not progress to the quarterfinals. It was the first time they had competed at the tournament since 2006, when it was still known as the world championship.

Italy's two European titles came in 1983 and 1999 but they have not finished on the podium since 2003. They reached the quarterfinals at the 2017 EuroBasket but lost to a Serbia team that went on to finish runners-up.